Darn my husband! How crazy would this be?

[kmb584]

Your DH may want alone time but a surprise agreement to a WDW trip is awesome! Spur of the moment (which, to me, is either equal to or less than 1 months notice) WDW vacations are my absolute favorite as I run on pure excitement. There's something that much more magical knowing that I'll be spending the upcoming however many days in Disney whereas just moments before I thought they'd be of the ho-hum variety.

Simply because I like to price things out, I did just that for you on the WDW website. I selected random dates (15th-20th), your party size, 4 day base tickets and opted for both Value and Mod options. What I found was:

• ASMu: $1,670.08 + tax
• POP: $1,722.90 + tax
• POR: $1,992.88 + tax

Considering the $2,000 budget I think ASMu (or Sports as it's the same price per night) is going to be your best bet. All of the packages are incredibly close to your budget but at least with ASMu you'll have a few dollars left over.

If you stick with CS meals and budget $50 - $75/day for both meals and snacks that will add an additional $250 - $375 to the bottom line. You will more than likely go over the $2,000 budget but it shouldn't be by much!

I know that you've contacted your TA already but I wanted to throw out the option of booking through a third party website such as Orbitz. I've done so in the past when my budget was lower than normal and it's a fantastic way to save. In 2010 I booked 7 nights at AKL for $110/night.

 

[Mom2six]

Per the website you can do 4 park days, 5 nights at the All Stars for just under $1500. That doesn't include food, gas or incidentals. You can reduce that $1500 to $1200 by staying on a tent campsite at Fort Wilderness, but that has it's own shortcomings.

That's odd..when I put it into the website it says $1698 (a hundred dollars cheaper than I thought )

 

[*tinker*bell*]

I used the wdw website, pricing in August, using weeknights (I used the 12-16) using the room discount at Pop with four day base tickets I get 1,165.15. You then of course have gas, food and souvenirs but I think it's feasible. Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[ttintagel]

If it's just you and the kid, and you're going to have a car, maybe staying offsite would be OK for this trip.

 

[Random Ninja]

Maybe this would be a good trip to stay at one of the dtd hotels. They run their own free bus transportation to the parks that runs consistantly. The Best Western even has free parking and the Hilton has EMH access.

 

[Mom2six]

Thanks. My TA says there is a room discount coming next month, so she is working up something for me then. I would love to just get in the car and go, but I have to plan a bit more than that. This trip (if it exists) will be different than any we have done before. We have only ever done off-season (October and December), so the crowds and the heat will be new to us. But,having just been last December, I don't feel the need to do commando park touring, or stand in lines for characters. We've also never stayed on site, so I am excited about that.

Good thing I just finished my last Disney scrapbook!

A room discount would be nice! We've gone in September and it is really hot (low crowds though) and we have so much fun. Fans, mister fans, spending time in the gift stores, and swimming keep you cool! Have a great time.

 

[sharadoc]

There is a room discount starting August 15. If you want to go before that maybe you could rent points from David's. You may have to take SSR or possibly OKW is available. You'd get a good price on a studio, around $1200.

There's Wyndham Bonnet Creek that should run around $100 a night for a condo with full kitchen. You can get groceries and eat in the room and pack lunches to save some money too. Check Vacation Strategy, Vacation Upgrades, or Farrell's Vacations for availability. It's surrounded by Disney, across the main intersection from OKW.

 

[rustyanchor]

go to travelocity.com. they have many days in august that are $80/night at pop! i priced out aug 15-20 just out of curiosity. they have a 15% off coupon code right now that's good until july 15 (the code is COUPON15). with the coupon code, a five night stay at pop century for 2 adults & 1 child comes to $413.89! you can check for other hotels as well, that is just the first i tried since i booked a travelocity deal for there for my trip in september.

room: $413.89 +
tickets (non park hopper): $545.28

i'm assuming you need a hotel room during the drive down & back, so i'd factor in about $75/ night for those: $150.00

this leaves $890.83 for food, gas, etc. i don't know anything about how much gas you'll need or how and how much your family likes to eat, so that would be for you to determine. but i'm guessing that it's definitely doable!

 

[kymom99]

We drove to Sarasota down 75 and back via 95 and were able to find nice places for $65 a night. With tax about $75 or so. Also, gas down that way was way cheaper than where I live. Not sure what your route would be but you can figure less than $200 for stop overs if you don't stop in major cities.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Lol. If DW told me to take 2k and take ds to the world, she would hear the screech of tires and see dust settling before she finished the sentence!

Have a ball! Very doable.

 

[KingofSwing3000]

Homeaway.com has some great villa/home options currently for as low as $50 a night. Even last minute.

 

[laceyinwonderland]

That sounds like us last summer! I took DD5 and DS9 by myself for 5 nights at the end of July. We stayed at Pop and it was an amazing trip! We knew it was going to be hot (plus I was pregnant) so we took it very slow. We made some amazing memories!

How sweet!!!! My kiddos are 4 years apart too (5 and 1) and I think it would be so fun to take them on a girls only wdw trip! Your post gives me hope!

 

[DisneyFanSince71]

I just think that going down at this time of the year isn't worth it with the crowds and heat. Other times of the year, I would be right in the car with you.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I think you can get close to 2000.00 and if you book even a month out, maybe you can save up a bit more. If you need to book before the kids start school, book as far into August as you can before they start, and the crowds will start to go down. It will still be hot, but not as busy. IF you can wait till September and school is not an issue, the first of September will be much less crowded! Have fun. We planned a trip a month out but that is as close as we have done!

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Thanks for the replies, everyone! (Well, most everyone)


My TA gave me a quote, under budget, for five nights at POP the third week of August plus the QS dining plan. Looked at the crowd calculator, and it is only a 4 or 5 on our park days. If DH tells me to book it, I plan on reading all of the tips I can find on surviving Disney in August. I know I will need to allow lots of pool time. We will do two days MK, two days at Epcot. No park hopping. I plan on touring leisurely. Heading to BTMRR first, since that was down on our last trip. We're not doing any character meals this time, except maybe Garden Grill since we've never been there. I would LOVE to eat at BOG, but I won't stand in a long line in the sun to get in.

Hmm, sounds like I've planned a trip!

 

[Desnik]

We go at the end of Aug now because we can't take the kids out of school for long periods anymore. This year's trip starts on Aug 15th!!

The best thing to do on an Aug trip is to do the EMH mornings at the parks. Less crowds, less heat, and you'll have little to no wait times. Have a nice lunch in the park, then head back to the resort for a swim.

We have come to love our Aug trips. Yes it's hot, but we've never had to deal with bad crowds because we utilize the EMH & when it's too hot we go swimming! Also, it's a nice time to enjoy your resort and explore other things that Disney has to offer.

Have a great trip!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I used to live in Alexandria and we would leave in the morning, stop at South Of The Border for a late lunch and spend the night near Savannah. Get in next day about noon.

 

[catherines_mama]

I didn't catch how old DD is. You will have so much fun. I love my family trips, but cherish those solo trips with just DD before I met DH. We had tons of fun. We'd share meals to save $ and just did our girl thing all the time.

Have fun and I hope you get to go!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Ooh, it sounds like a great idea-I hope you get to go and have the time of your life!

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

It shouldnt take 2 days to drive from VA. 12 hours?